Belton firefighters awarded for bravery

Six Anderson County firefighters were honored recently at the South Carolina Firefighters Association banquet for pulling two people from a burning building.

Courtesy of Belton Fire Department

Belton - Six Anderson County firefighters recently were honored at the South Carolina Firefighters Association banquet for their bravery at a Dec. 14 fire.

Those recognized were Kevin Alewine, 28, Chad Smith, 35, Darren Vaughn, 24, Michael Browning 29, Daniel Cawthon, 26, and Luke Riddle, 24. Each received a plaque and medal in honor of their bravery.

The fire started at an apartment complex at 203 Guthrie Road in Belton. The Belton firefighters quickly responded to the call made by residents who said they smelled smoke.

"The fire wasn't very large, but it was a long-smoldering type fire," Belton Fire Chief Alan Sims said. "The smoke was so thick you could barely see."

The men extinguished the fire and looked for victims of the smoke, Sims said. They saw an unconscious woman who was barely visible through the smoke. They quickly pulled her out of the complex. She was sent to the Joseph M. Still Burn Center in Augusta, Ga.

The team continued to search through the smoke and found a man sitting unconscious in a chair. He was pulled out of the building, and also sent to the Augusta burn center.

"Any time you save a life, it feels good," Alewine said. "Its very rewarding."

Alewine began his career as a firefighter as a volunteer at age 13, but has been fighting fires for about 12 years.

The cause of the fire never was determined, but both victims were lucky, Sims said.

"We were at the right place at the right time," Sims said. "It's rare that you go to a fire and are able to save someone's life. If they would have been in the smoke for about another minute, they wouldn't be alive today."